


Waving Your Banner all over the Place

by EtherealNyx



Series: Pre-Game Galar Works [12]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Impromptu Cheerleading, didn’t feel right tagging it it’s just there, sportsball, try to spot the cameo, veryyy minor trainshipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-11-02 04:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20627864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EtherealNyx/pseuds/EtherealNyx
Summary: “If asked not to do something, Gloria usually did it anyway; her urge to be a contrarian often outweighed things like ‘common sense’ and ‘tact’.”In which gym battles are serious familial business.





	Waving Your Banner all over the Place

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, welcome! 
> 
> Do you like cheering your friends on? Your FAMILY? Do you like terrorizing innocent crowds INTO cheering those people on? Then this is the fic for you (and I am lowkey unnerved).

There were certain perks to traveling with your cousin that Gloria was just starting to appreciate. The first and most important being the curry, of course, but there were other things that made it fun too.

Now that she had the ability to actually see Victor around Pokémon that weren’t Wooloo, there was always a source of fresh entertainment. Every so often, he’d try to pick up his Sobble like a Wooloo lamb and get wet for his troubles. It was truly the funniest shit; he always made a face like a Magikarp when it happened, but Victor never learned.

She could tell the loss of the herd was getting to him. They weren’t dead, but still. Call it what you will. (She personally thought of it as an odd form of separation anxiety.) Gloria, being the brilliant person she was, got it in her head that she needed to do something sufficiently embarrassing enough to get his mind off of it, but not too bad that he’d refuse to speak to her. 

The idea hit her when she saw the light glinting off the sea. If Victor couldn’t get the herd’s unconditional support while on his journey, she’d bring it to him. 

Now, naturally, he had already told her not to loudly cheer for him during matches. “I’ll probably mess up!” But, during the match with Milo, he hadn’t noticed a thing, and she had been as loud as ever. Even his token protests weren’t a factor in her decision making process. If asked not to do something, Gloria usually did it anyway; her urge to be a contrarian often outweighed things like ‘common sense’ and ‘tact’.

This time, though, she had gone the extra mile. Keeping the secret from someone she was temporarily living with was a challenge, but personally, she thought she handled it fine. It’d be a battle he’d never forget. She had made sure of _ that. _

“Woop woop! It’zzz the sound of your alarm, bzzt!” Her phone squealed. “Hurry _ up! _”

“I have _ no _idea why you were selected to be in a phone.” Gloria told it, though not with any contempt. Tuning out its indignant rant was easy. Ignoring the small shocks was harder, though she thought she pulled it off well.

Gingerly carrying the posters under her arm was a risk. She had a feeling it would all work out though. Things always seemed to where Victor was concerned.

* * *

**scot: ** _ come see @lovecore beat @loch.nessa.monster today! it’s gonna be sick uwu _

~~~~

**hopofficial: ** _ legit begging for my friends to stop saying uwu on main gonna cry out here Rotom send tweet _

* * *

Punching Hop in the arm felt like an appropriate price for her friend to pay after vaguing her on social media. “Hey, thanks for saving me a seat.” She plopped down next to him, ignoring the slight wince on his face. 

“No problem!” He punched her arm in retaliation, something she allowed. “Oh, did you bring me the poster board?”

Gloria handed his over. “It’s good, right?” She probed, pleased with herself. His was covered in what could best be described as Wooloo cheerleaders, performing silly stunts to the best of their fluffy ability. JUST DO IT MAKE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE was written in a lopsided fashion, but it was the best she could do on short notice. 

Hop brightened. “Yup! It’s perfect! Thanks by the way. I would have made my own, but I couldn’t find it in the store.” 

“Yeah, ‘cause I bought the last ones.” Gloria told him bluntly.

“WHAT?!? You made me pay you when it was _ your fault?!? _”

She leaned back in her seat, even more smug. “Yup! Die mad about it.” 

“Maybe I will.” Hop huffed petulantly. “You’re going to see headlines about it, I swear. ‘Beautiful Trainer Dies of Rage. Last Words Blame Gloria Yoshida’. And then you’ll feel bad and also be in jail so there!” 

Mercilessly, Gloria mussed up his soft hair with her hands. “_ Please. _It’s such a dumb way to go and you know they’d never catch me alive.” She trusted her legs to outrun basically anyone, and she believed in her Pokémon even more.

“You make an excellent point, but I have elected to ignore it because I’m still mad at you!” He declared firmly. The pout ruined the effect though. Really, Hop was _ such _ a kid. 

(If anyone were to point out that she too was a kid, she’d elect to ignore that excellent point as well.) 

Rather than visibly acknowledging his statement, Gloria stared at her own poster. A Wooloo, holding a sign that said ‘FOLLOW @LOVECORE OR FACE MY ADORABLE WRATH’? Inspired. She awed _ herself _ sometimes. 

Hop looked over and burst into immediate giggles. “Is that supposed to be Lady?” He asked, barely able to get the words out. Lady, for those wondering, was a member of the herd that everyone suspected was close to evolving. She had a bad temper, often headbutting anyone who tried to wander into her domain. Even Victor wasn’t safe, but he loved her anyway. 

She winked. It was a good enough answer on its own.

* * *

Galarian Gym battles started in a very specific way. 

The public almost had a Pavlovian response to the opening notes of the theme song. Just playing it was enough to get people to glance at any nearby TVs. Gloria knew it for a fact. She checked once.

(That being said, kids in trainer school get _ really _pissy when you pull pranks on them. Pro tip.)

Knowing this, she refused to admit that the very same notes made her stomach twist into knots. Thinking about battles always got her blood flowing faster than anything else. Just the mere reminder of that rush left her sweating in her seat. 

“It’s time.” She whispered, saying the obvious. For once, Hop didn’t mention it. _ Hell, I’ll take what I can get. _

The man of the hour emerged into the light, looking like someone had just slapped him across the face. It had happened once; he was making the same expression. Bad omen if she ever saw one, but there was still hope. Victor had made an even _ worse _face last time, and look how that turned out! 

She said as much to her friend. Hop pursed his lips dramatically. “Dewdrop got knocked out, and Vic was _ devastated_. I dunno if that’s a real victory…” 

“Eh. If you win, you win. And Dewdrop was _ fine_.” Gloria said with a shrug. “She’s way stronger now! I think they can do it.”

Hop nodded vigorously. “Of course they can! It’s Vic, isn’t it? He’s the best.” 

Victor tripped and fell on his face.

Gloria resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands. “He’s fucking _ hopeless _.” She griped. “How are we related?”

“Well,” Hop began with a frown, “when two siblings have kids-”

“It was a rhetorical question.” Then, she rubbed his shoulder to show that there was no ill feelings involved in saying so. Common courtesy and all that.

People were laughing at the spectacle, which just wouldn’t do. “Oi!” She hollered at a cluster of older teens nearby. “Shut your fucking mouths before I come over there and shut them for you!” 

“Woah, don’t start a fight!” He curled his body over the poster board, no doubt seeking to protect it from the world. “_ I’ll _have to make a scene too, and that’ll really suck, so don’t! It’ll be super awkward! Look, he’s already up and moving!” 

She whipped her head back around to face the arena. Sure enough, Victor was in position, though he was an awful shade of puce. Quickly, Gloria snapped a photo of the zoomed in video feed. Rule number one of being a Yoshida: never pass up the acquisition of minor blackmail material. 

Nessa’s entrance was far more impressive. Anyone who could strut and blow kisses to a crowd while wearing ridiculous sandals knew what they were about. “Challenger Victor, welcome to my humble abode.” Whoever was handling audio had serious skills. 

“Th-Thanks for having me.” He squared his shoulders, adjusting his stance. 

She looked amused. “How polite of you. I’m sure you have many plans for how to beat me, yes?” 

Gloria watched his startled nod with horror. _ You’re too obvious! _She screamed in her head, wishing psychic powers would just randomly manifest. It’d be pretty damn useful. 

“Good!” Nessa praised. “I like initiative! Such a shame I’ll be sinking each and every one. Let’s begin.” 

Victor paled. Poor guy. “Go, Dewdrop!” He called, unknowingly giving Gloria and Hop their cue. The tiny Sobble appeared in a rush of light, already primed for a brutal showdown. 

Once she saw her, Gloria got up and stood on her seat. 

“Hey! Don’t block the fucking view!” An adult called behind her. 

“Move then!” She shouted back. “There’s plenty of seats, asshole!” 

Truth be told, Victor wasn’t a very popular challenger. People like Marnie, who she had never met, were impossible to get tickets to see, but despite the prestige of being one of the champion’s picks, most people weren’t interested in her cousin. Analysts said he didn’t have any star quality. To be fair, they were right. Still, she wanted to cheer _ properly_, dissenters be damned.

Gloria brandished the sign. “GIVE ME A V!” 

“V!” Hop piped up, waving his own sign. Unlike her, he stuck to standing in front of his chair. The girl sitting next to him appeared to be very disturbed.

“GIVE ME AN I!” 

“I…?” Some of the people nearby chimed in uncertainly. She was going to call _ that _a promising start.

Gloria let go of one side to pump a fist. “GIVE ME A C!” 

“C!” Some might say the people were starting to get into their stride. Such a comment would be dead wrong. The enthusiastic response was thick with bewildered terror.

“AND A T!”

“T!”

“NOW AN O!”

“O!”

“AND GIVE ME AN R!”

“R!”

“_WHAT DOES THAT SPELL?_” Hop was getting more into it than _ she _was. The set of lungs on him, she swore…

“Um, Victor? Yeah!” Somehow, he _ still _ didn’t notice the chaos unfolding in their section of the stands. Thank the wolves for small blessings. 

Now came the chants. Gloria was insanely proud of them.

“Victor, Victor, he’s our man! If he can’t do it, no one can!” They cheered in unison. “Victor, Victor, he’s our guy! He’ll quit when Grumpig fly! Goooo, Victor! Go! Go! Go!”

Maybe the last ‘Go’ was too loud, or maybe their luck was just shitty. The very moment Nessa’s Goldeen fainted, her cousin looked up, directly at the two of them. 

Hop let loose an undignified squeak. _ Oh no! _She thought, frozen in place. If he actually got it in his head that their cheering was distracting, it’d throw off his entire rhythm. Victor was sensitive like that. 

But not today. He stared at their guilty faces right before glancing away. 

Even though he lost right after, Gloria still felt pretty good about what she’d done. At least, she did until he fed her curry she didn’t like that night. (When he wasn’t flustered, the vindictiveness leaked out in minuscule ways. Typical Yoshida behavior.) 

_ Note to self. _ She thought miserably. _ Don’t charge Hop for a poster next time. _If there was one thing everyone was good at, it was throwing each other under the buses that hurt the least. What else were childhood friends for? 

* * *

**Bonus**

Marnie tugged off her wig in the bathroom, unleashing messy black locks once more. “There are fans like mine out there too, hm?” She muttered to herself, examining her face in the mirror. “For people like him?” The tense look refused to leave. By then, her heart had settled, but her eyebrows and lips remembered. They always did. 

Staring at that face of hers gave her newfound resolve. The decision was already made. She’d find this Victor and talk to him. Finally, someone would understand.

**Author's Note:**

> The placeholder text this time was just me spamming Wow over and over again, which is a perfect depiction of my mental state.
> 
> As always, I have little notes on details! 
> 
> \- This is mentioned in other works, but Victor and Gloria live together and own a Wooloo herd that the former is very attached to.
> 
> \- The usernames are directly from an AU that a friend and I have called Pokewatch, but I can’t elaborate right now on that part,,
> 
> \- Work on surnames is. Slow. But the two Yoshida cousins are the Yoshidas. That is all.
> 
> \- There’s an extremely brief mention of this, but Gloria was in a school for battle-focused trainers for most of her youth. 
> 
> \- The description of Nessa’s sandals is out of frustration. I’m trying to replicate it for a cosplay and it’s KILLING me
> 
> This is one of those things where I’d definitely flesh it out for something more complex, but I think it’s fine as is right now. I’m happy with it!
> 
> ^^ That’s all. Token statements: my Tumblr is bi-hop, I do take requests, and comments/kudos are appreciated but definitely not required! Thank you so much for reading, and have a great day!


End file.
